Meet Nancy Ghertner

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. As a stay at home housewife, living in Sandy Springs with two young children, I had been looking for a while for a way to give back to my community. I decided that being a lawyer in Atlanta would be my path to realizing that goal.

After graduating from law school and passing the Georgia Bar, I decided to open my own general civil practice and focus as much as possible on family law. Since that time, being a lawyer (especially a sole practitioner) has surpassed my wildest dreams. I have been able to help my clients resolve their family law issues as well as become more involved in my community.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you? Has it been a smooth road? Of course not. When I was first in practice, I was a single mother of two young children who deserved my 100% attention. Figuring out how to balance my law practice with active parenting was sometimes a daunting challenge. That was thirty years ago and I’m exceedingly proud of the adults my children have grown up to be. Other struggles were more practice-related. As a sole practitioner, there were no mentors in-house that I could turn to, so over the years, I built a network of other lawyers and professionals that I could call on for guidance (and who could call on me as well!). That network has been – and remains – invaluable.

We’d love to hear more about your business. My company is a locally owned law firm that has been providing legal services for over thirty years. While I have a general civil practice which includes helping with corporate matters, estate planning and probate, I find that most of my practice is devoted to domestic relations. I am most proud of my good reputation in the legal community as well as in the general community in which I have lived for so long. That and my experience as an attorney set me apart from others.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?Success” to me covers a wide spectrum of meanings. First and foremost, I want to be kind and compassionate – to others as well as to myself. Another criterion of success for me is always staying curious and anxious to learn. So many people are so caught up in themselves that they don’t have room for interest in other people’s journeys and in learning all there is to learn. Learning – anything – takes me out of myself and makes me a part of the greater universe. That’s success to me.